At UFC on Fox 8 on Saturday, Liz Carmouche might have needed to win to keep her UFC tenure going. The veteran bantamweight—and the first woman to fight twice inside the UFC Octagon—delivered with a second-round TKO of young Brazilian Jessica Andrade.
Carmouche (9-3) and Andrade (9-3) now have even professional records, and they fought pretty equally through an entertaining first round—that contained several striking and grappling exchanges—that was difficult to score in. In the second, Carmouche used her physical strength and Andrade‘s momentum to plant Andrade on the mat. She worked to gain the mount position and proceeded to pound Andrade for the rest of the round. Finally, at the 3:57 mark, referee Herb Dean called the stoppage.
What we’ll remember about this fight
The power of “Girl-rila” Carmouche. Andrade looked good, in particular with a strong slam of her own in the first. But Carmouche bullied Andrade to the ground in the second, and she did not let her opponent recover. Andrade appeared to be discouraged by Carmouche‘s airlocked mount as she was punished by those relentless ground strikes.
What we learned about Liz Carmouche
She is a winner. Carmouche was valiant but overmatched against women’s MMA golden girl Ronda Rousey. She has come up short against Sarah Kaufman and Marloes Coenen. In fact, coming into UFC on Fox 8, she had never defeated anyone who currently has a winning record. She changed that Saturday night.
What we learned about Jessica Andrade
She’s only 21 and will be back. Perhaps there was a case of Octagon jitters on display, but Andrade had several flashes of the talent and skill that brought her to the UFC in the first place.
What’s next for Carmouche
Given the newness of the division in the UFC context, wheat is still being separated from chaff. I’d give Carmouche a shot at Alexis Davis.
What’s next for Andrade
Another veteran of the women’s game. This time, I’d give her British pioneer Rosi Sexton.
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